Help-Willamette Trip

I know Willamette Valley has been covered in detail in previous threads, but I have a couple of more specific questions I would appreciate some guidance on. My wife and I are planning a trip in late October with a couple of friends and while I’ve had a few Oregon pinots and Chards, I’m not nearly as educated on Oregon as other regions. My palate leans strongly towards the AFWE side, as I am big Burgundy enthusiast, so not looking for any big, heavy, over-oaked wines. Really want to concentrate on wineries focused on the more elegant, terrior-driven wines.

Below is a list I’ve compiled from previous threads, and friends recommendations, and would like some help in identifying if any of these don’t meet what I am looking for. I’ve only had a couple of these wines and those I did have were from before my palate changed to it’s current status. I believe these are all open to the public but let me know if I am wrong please. I am not overly concerned with prices of the wines or tasting fees, just looking for the best wines and experience possible.

Also looking to rent a car and hire a driver for 4 days while we are doing our tours. Do any of you know of a service or individual who will drive your vehicle for an hourly or daily rate? We’ve done this in Napa several times and found it’s a great way to play it safe and cheaper than doing a car service for that long.

Thanks for any help or insight you can provide. If there is something I am missing from the list please feel free to add suggestions.

Big Table Farm
Eyrie
Domaine Drouhin
Somaine Serene
Cristom
White Rose
Evening Land
Arterberry Maresh
Patricia Green
Brick House
Walter Scott
Native Flora

A growing # of great producers. Several I would add to your list. Perhaps sort yours by AVA and location.

AVAs include Chehalem, Ribbon Ridge, Yamhill-Carlton, Dundee, Eola-Amity and McMinnville (very few wineries).

  • Matello / Goodfellow - just blocks from Eyrie in McMinnville.
  • Belle Pente - Carlton by appt - wine@bellepente.com. You can also visit Scott Paul in Carlton.
  • St. Innocent - Eola Amity (near Cristom & Walter Scott)
  • Kelly Fox by appt. Email gerson@kelleyfoxwines.com
  • Johan - near coast range / Dallas

Just last night, someone extremely knowledgeable in WV Pinots recommended Lingua Franca. I recalled that they had been given a rave here on the Berserkers’ board a short while ago. Sounds like they are worth a visit down in the Eola-Amity area. If you spend a day in that area you can consider Bjornson and Bethel Heights in addition to the above named St. Innocent, Cristom, and Walter Scott.

BTW. Domaine Serene has a spectacular site, but the wines are heavy handed on the oak.
Big Table Farms is owned and run by a wonderful couple who moved up from California. They kept some of their California palate, so the wines, while excellent, are not really in the AFWE camp.

P Hickner

If you’re thinking logistically, a few of the names you mentioned are all located on the same hillside.

Start on top of the hill at Domaine Serene (brand new tasting room just built) and work your way down to Domaine Drouhin, Archery Summit (meh), and Stoller (beautiful setting, mediocre wines). I realize this is the classic tourist itinerary, it’s a great perspective of Oregon’s most renowned wineries in the Dundee area.

Have lunch at the Red Hills Market in Dundee at least once.

I also really enjoy wines on the North side of Dundee in Yamhill area:

Shea Wine Cellars (appt. only)…top notch Chard and Burg-style Pinot
Bergstrom
Brick House
Beaux Freres
Penner Ash
WillaKenzie

Nothing to add to the winery suggestions provided other than Crowley and J Christopher.

Note the following from your list require appointments:

Brick House
Walter Scott
Patty Green

I believe you can taste some Arterberry Maresh wines at the Big Red Barn, but you’ll have a better time and experience if you can snag an appointment with Jimmy Maresh, the winemaker.

Just went in May.

You would definitely like Belle Pente. I’d also check out Westrey when you go to Eyrie. And don’t forget board member Todd Hamina’s Biggio Hamina.

We rented a car but the wineries are pretty spread out. A driver wouldn’t be a terrible idea depending on how much you plan to drink.

From my experiences and only one year on the Bergstrom mailing list none of these are hitting what you’re looking for accept MAYBE Brick House (because I’ve heard great things but never had their wines). I’ve had Beaux Freres back to 1993 and 30+ bottles of Bergstrom and I think the latter is a problem for me. They’ve had wines go through some funky stages…in multiple vintages. If you’re buying for immediate consumption then the rule is buy what tastes good now. However, I don’t think that sounds like what you’re looking for…so I’d steer clear of most of these recommendations from what minimal experience I have from only visiting the valley 2 times.

I think you can’t go wrong with your list…trust in your research and avoid the hype train.

Yes, be sure to add Belle Pente as Brian makes the most terroir driven wines in the valley. Also Marcus Goodfellow’s wines for McMinville… Mo Ayoub makes a good expression of Dundee Hills. Brickhouse is the most terroir Ribbon Ridge. For Eola Amity might try Ioata a small family owned winery doing very focused wines.

One that I’m surprised hasn’t been mentioned yet…

Evesham Wood/Haden Fig

I would add Brooks

Matello/Goodfellow
Grochau
Vincent
Helioterra
Love & Squalor
Patricia Green
Biggio Hamina
Penner Ash
Seven of Hearts/Luminous Hills
Brooks
and if you want riesling, Paetra.

I buy quite a bit of the first five and last two.

IMO, Vincent’s chardonnays are as close to Burgundian as I have found so far. Even better, they are priced at a point you’ll love.

At Helioterra, Anne makes a great pinot but she makes killer Arneis, cool climate Syrah, Mourvedre and Melon de Bourgogne.

PM me if you want more info.

You could probably go through taskrabbit tonsee about a driver. Getting them on your rental car’s agreement would take a little bit of doing but not impossible. Don’t know if you have used it before but it works. You might even find someone on there that would use their car saving you at least the parking charges (that is if you are staying in a downtown Portland hotel). There are many wine tour services available as well. Backroads is quite good.

If you’re staying out in wine country you could certainly schedule at least a day or two where the wineries were close to you and close together that with a little bit of common sense and spitting you could easily make it through the day.

You’ve received a lot of good suggestions of wineries to visit, but several of them are not what I would consider AFWE. So I’m wondering if you could share more specific characteristics/flavors you’re looking for in Pinot Noir you enjoy drinking? Also, how important is the acid level the pinots you drink?

The SmartPark garages downtown are a max of $5 on weekends and have pretty reasonable daily rates.

Even if you leave your car there a week, just use the ‘lost ticket’ option, shouldn’t be much more than $30. Always beats the $40+/night the hotels charge.

OP I hope you have fun here, Oregon is a beautiful place with wonderful wine and people.

Your list is pretty sound but beware of what others are mentioning if you’re truly looking for AFWE wines.

Beaux Freres, Penner, Bergstrom, WillaKenzie, Domaine Serene, Shea Cellars…these are ALL highly extracted, oak driven wineries. Yes they have lighter bottlings but they’re not old world or AFWE style in any way shape or form. Cristom and PGC are also using quite a bit of oak but are much more accessible early on. I would HIGHLY recommend Cristom if you enjoy whole cluster pinot. They may use oak but it’s beautifully integrated.

It looks like you have a few days here so I’d try to cluster them the best you can:

Day #1

Dundee -
Hit Red Hills Market for breakfast or lunch
Trisaetum (if you want delicious rielsing)
White Rose
Arterberry Maresh
Domaine Drouhin

McMinnville
Eat at Valley Commissary
Matello - Message Marcus if he’s available
Eyrie
Westrey

Salem area
Vincent - Message Vincent on the board also
Johan
Cristom
Walter Scott

Brickhouse is one of the top producers in Oregon but they’re very difficult to get into. Belle Pente is also great but same story.

Message me if you plan on setting up appointments, I’d be happy to help facilitate and have some good friends in these wineries.

Brandon, not sure why you note Brick House and Belle Pente are very difficult to get into. I’ve had no issue making appointments at either winery in the last year.

I like Brandon’s itinerary! [berserker.gif]

That’s three days of solid wine and food touring in the Willamette Valley. You can also bring food from local shops to picnic areas at some of the producers, like my spot at Grochau Cellars on Eola Hills Road. I only do tastings by appointment, but I’m always happy to taste with Berserkers so yeah, message me through the board for sure if you’re coming out here.

Oregon Wine Country is great, you will have a lot of fun there. Besides tasting great wines, some of the wineries have fantastic views. White Rose is one you should seek out (great Pinot’s too).

If you have the time, take a break from Wine and drive out to the coast. Cannon Beach is one of the most unique and beautiful places on earth. It’s a 2 hour drive, you won’t regret it.

Thanks so much for all the help here! Some great ideas and the willingness to help is one of the things I love about Berserkers. Can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of you taking the time to offer up comments and suggestions!

Steven- Some really good suggestions here and Kelly Fox was definitely one that was on my radar so glad to hear that might be a good fit

PeterH- I haven’t heard of Bjornson or Bethel Heights but will definitely check them out. That was my concern on Domaine Serene and mainly put them on there as I’ve heard the winery is nice and would be a name that my friends would know. Still, probably best to pass on that one I feel. Will look at previous threads on Lingua Franca. Don’t remember them but that doesn’t mean much. I actually had a bottle of Big Table Farms a few months ago and while it’s not my usual style I actually really enjoyed it and thought it would be a more appealing style to my friends who aren’t as big of wine nerds as I am. Will probably keep this one as I’ve hear the folks there are super nice and I think they would be a crowd pleaser for our group.

Scott- I looked briefly at J Christopher but honestly don’t know anything about them. Where do you feel they fall stylistically? I’ve seen some good reviews on Arterberry Maresh but I have the same question there. Any other wines you might compare the styles to? I always enjoy trying to line up tastings with the winemakers as I tend to get a little more in-depth with questions than my wife would like.

DavidSawyer- Definitely need to try to hook up with Todd at Biggio Hamina. Always good to visit with a fellow Berserker! And for this crew I think a driver is a must:)

Kirk.Grant- Thanks for the insight and I tend to agree with your assessment. I’ve had most of the wines CodyL mentioned and they honestly don’t really fit the profile I’m looking for. Never had Brick House so any light you could shed there would be helpful.

lleichtman- Sounds like Belle Pente is one I really need to look at! I had a very young Ayoub recently and while good it seemed like they were really built for the long haul so it was hard for me to get much out of it honestly. I tend to age most of my wines so this doesn’t concern me but just don’t have the experience with any “older” vintages of Ayoub to make that call. Goodfellow keeps coming up so will definitely look into that one as well.

Nolan E- Evasham Wood looks interesting. Thanks for the heads up!

Jon Johnson- Not familiar with them but the tasting room looks nice.

Monte- Thanks for the help. Vincent chards sound intriguing and would love to find some good chards on this trip. I’m open to all varietals but want to focus on pinot and chard for this trip as that’s all my wife and friends will care about. Always a juggling act keeping everyone happy.

Jim Anderson- We don’t have taskrabbit here but after taking a quick peek that’s a really good possibility. Don’t mind hiring a service if I have to but trying to keep costs down so I can spend more on wine:) Staying at The Allison so we should be fairly close to most places so one responsible party and some back roads might be the best option. Would love to taste and visit with you guys while we are there if you have time! I’ve heard great things about your wine and look forward to trying it!

Doug Uno- I don’t want to say I am only interested in AFWE wines but that is just what I enjoy the most. I want to make sure the group has a good time so a couple of places outside that realm are fine but want to focus more on that style. I tend to prefer more pretty, feminine, precise pinots with bright red fruits, good acidity and lighter on the oak.

Brandon J- Great itinerary and very helpful! I agree that the wines you mentioned don’t really fit our agenda so leaving those out. I am intrigued by Cristom and Patricia Green as I’ve heard really good things and some earlier drinking wines would be nice to bring home while the others rest. I do enjoy the whole cluster wines (Jamie Kutch makes my favorite in Cali) so Cristom sounds like a must do. We can arrive whenever so we will really have almost 4 full days of tasting so can probably add a few to the awesome itinerary you put out there. Do you still think Drouhin is worth doing or best served somewhere else? I’ve had a few older bottles of Louise and they were pretty spectacular. I appreciate the offer and if I have any trouble getting into any of these I will definitely reach out! Thanks again!

Vincent- Plan on a PM! Would love to get together and try some great wines!

PHuff- Thanks for the recommendation and might have to give that a try! If I can squeeze another day out of the group would love to spend some time there!

Cody - if you are headed to Eola-Amity (Cristom, Vincent) and would like to see us, please get in touch. We would primarily be a 2016 Barrel Sampling visit.